New Hampshire, 2004

Flooding in New Hampshire, April 1 to 3, 2004

April 1 to 3, 2004 · NWS BOX · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

Minor to moderate flooding occurred along the Contoocook and Piscataquog Rivers, as a result of a widespread 2 to 4 inch rainfall which took place over three days. Flooding impacted several roads along both rivers, forcing closure of the more susceptible areas.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS BOX wrote it up.

Minor to moderate flooding occurred along the Contoocook and Piscataquog Rivers, as a result of a widespread 2 to 4 inch rainfall which took place over three days. Locally as much as 4 to 6 inches of rain was reported.Flooding impacted several roads along both rivers, forcing closure of the more susceptible areas. Some neighborhoods located in low lying areas were forced to evacuate. No estimate of flood damage was available.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 1, 4:10 PM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 1, 4:10 PM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 1, 4:45 PM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Hillsborough

When
April 1, 8:00 PM EST to April 2, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Hillsborough forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
42.915, -71.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Contoocook River at Peterborough

Flood, Cheshire

When
April 2, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Cheshire forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
42.919, -72.251 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Piscataquog River at Goffstown

Flood, Hillsborough

When
April 2, 11:55 AM EST to April 3, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Hillsborough forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
42.915, -71.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Souhegan River at Merrimack

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Hampshire in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in New Hampshire, April 2004

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5390746, 5390747, 5390748.